Free The Dead Series (Book 1): Tell Me When I'm Dead by Steven Ramirez Page A

out.”
    “Come on, I’ll take you back to your house.”
    “I’d appreciate it.”
    I left money on the table, and as we walked out I observed a man in a cheap suit staring at us. He looked feverish. To diffuse the tension, I smiled at him, but he kept staring. I noticed he was drooling.

    It was a short ride to Isaac’s house. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw the police cars parked in front of a neighbor’s house. A man, a woman and teenage girl sat outside on the curb. They looked helpless, like they didn’t know what to do.
    “Kate, what happened?” Isaac said.
    The woman looked up at us. “Oh, Dr. Fallow! Patty’s husband was attacked in their backyard. We’re waiting for the ambulance.”
    “Sal is still in the yard,” Patty said. “They won’t let me see him.”
    “Just give me a second.”
    As Isaac got his medical equipment from my truck, the woman named Patty continued on. “It was weird. Some kind of wild group of people. Men and women. They attacked him for no reason. He was watering the lawn.”
    Isaac touched Patty’s shoulder and went over to a police officer who was making some notes.
    “Oh, hey, Dr. Fallow.”
    “Did you see anyone?”
    “No. Whoever did this is long gone.”
    “Okay, come with me. Dave, you might want to stay here.”
    “No way—I’m coming.”
    We went around the side of the house and entered the backyard through a wooden gate. A policeman patrolled the area with his gun drawn. In the middle of the yard, we saw the victim. He didn’t look that bad. I guessed that something must have scared off the mob.
    Isaac put on latex gloves and knelt next to the man. I watched as he examined the man and took his pulse.
    “Sal, how are you feeling?”
    “Shaken up, I guess.”
    “These are some nasty bites.”
    “Who are you?” one of the police officers said to me.
    “Dave Pulaski. I’m a friend of Isaac’s.”
    “Oh?” I didn’t like his expression.
    By the time the ambulance arrived, Isaac had wrapped the man’s arms and hands. It looked to me as if he’d tried to deflect the attacks and was bit.
    When we got back to the street, another police officer came up to me.
    “I need to see some identification,” the cop said.
    Isaac and I exchanged a look as I handed over my driver’s license.
    “Hey, Norm,” another cop said. “Take a look at this.” He was examining my front bumper.
    “In a minute.”
    My heart sank as he took my license to his vehicle. I knew he was running it through the computer. A couple of minutes later, he came back.
    “There’s a wanted notice on you,” the cop said. “I have to take you in.”
    I looked at Isaac. “What for?” he said.
    The cop looked irritated. “There’s a detective wants to ask you some questions.”
    “You’re allowed to have an attorney present, so don’t say anything,” Isaac advised. “Give me your keys. I need to go over to the hospital. I’ll pick you up at the police station later.”
    “Thanks,” I said.
    I got into the back of the police car and looked down at my feet. Though I wasn’t cuffed, I couldn’t bear to look at the people on the sidewalk staring at me.
    I had never been arrested, not even in my darkest drinking days. Let me tell you, it’s not pleasant. There’s a sense of unreality to it, like it’s a dream and it’s happening to someone else.
    As I waited to be driven off, the first cop—Norm—went over to look at my truck with the other cop. He stared at the front bumper, said “Holy shit!” and looked over at me. I watched as Isaac joined them. I could imagine what they were saying about the blood. When it was over, Isaac walked past the police vehicle and gave me an almost-imperceptible thumbs-up.
    A coward and a murderer, I thought, as the two cops climbed into the car. Holly already hated me. Now she’d for sure be scared of me too.
    “That was some raccoon,” the cop named Norm said to me over his shoulder.
    “What?”
    “The one you ran over. He